Glenn Kahl/The Bulletin

A young Manteca woman had her hopes dashed Friday morning when a red Silverado pickup truck being chased by numerous black and white police vehicles crashed into her west bound late ‘90s Nissan at the intersection of North and Main streets at about 9 a.m.

Kara Adams, 22, said she had just finished classes at a Stockton Cosmetology school and received her certification. She was looking for a job when her car was totaled. She is currently employed at Office Max in Manteca.

A graduate of Manteca High School in 2010, she had used her vehicle not only for herself but to transport parents to their jobs and to pick up a 3-year-old nephew from his preschool every afternoon.

The some 70 mile police pursuit began about 8 a.m. in Lathrop by sheriff’s officers responding to reports of a drive-by shooting occurring in the area. The chase led deputies by Joseph Widmer Elementary School on Stonebridge Avenue as children were arriving for the day, according to one mother. It then continued onto I-5 going north.

The Sheriff’s deputies were soon joined in their chase by units of the California Highway Patrol and eventually the Manteca Police Department. The officers pursued the vehicle to Alpine Avenue and then to Benjamin Holt Drive in North Stockton and back south toward Highway 120 with the suspects continually attempting to lose the officers by exiting and reentering freeway on and off ramps. Police said the duo in the truck was seen throwing ammunition out of the vehicle during the chase.

The red truck led officers to McArthur Boulevard in Tracy where it changed course and headed back toward Manteca averting spike strips that had been placed on Highway 580. It reportedly exited the freeway on Lathrop Road and went through several neighborhoods around Airport Way and Union Road finally and then drove toward Manteca headed south bound on North Main Street where the crash with the west bound Manteca woman occurred.

While the Manteca driver complained of back pain, there were no serious injuries, police reported.

The suspect driver stayed with the truck after the crash and was ordered out of the vehicle at gunpoint by officers. The truck’s passenger ran west on North Street going behind the Presbyterian Church on the corner and running south through the alley. He was then seen cutting across South Main Street about a block from the crash scene.

Officers from the Sheriff’s Department, the Manteca Police Department and CHP motorcycle officers located him on the second story of an apartment complex in the 300 block of North Lincoln Avenue. The Manteca Fire Department was called to provide a ladder to get him down to the ground.

While he was ordered to stand on the roof with his hands on his head, Manteca officers trained automatic weapons on the suspect – not knowing if he was armed. A semi-automatic hand gun and a knife were believed to have been involved. He followed directions of officers and came down the ladder and was taken into custody by deputies on the scene.

For more on the pursuit and the identification of the two suspect – one of whom was on parole – read Saturday’s Manteca Bulletin.